2024 BMW 900XR - Why

[@johngoodlass]

I nearly considered the XR900 back in April when i changed motorcycles, but my limited motorcyling brain went for the heart option and i am now riding the Moto Guzzi V100 Mandello (which is a very beautiful motorcycle)

[@kevinkloker712]

After watching Scott's reviews I bought a 2021 F900XR in Nov 2020 and it's very nice after a taller windshield and Wunderlich comfort+ seat. The low RPM cruising and 56 MPG are easy to live with, but you can push it hard if you want to. Quieter and less buzzy than a Tracer 9. I did get one major software update than improved (and quieted) the engine character especially at low speeds.

[@amirseremet6179]

Thanks for all yours f900xr vides and after this one decided to buy it. Regards

[@TheBlakerunner]

Interesting video. I have the 2022 900XR, and am keeping it, even though I just got the new 1300 GS. Its a fun around town bike and a blast in the curves in the local mountains. Yes, two up with luggage is bad with front end dive, but your comment about the windshield? Easily fixed with the Puig touring shield which is cheap and great quality, and it fits the 900 like a stock item. The seat? I agree, first thing I did was get a custom seat, and now 300 mile days are not a problem. I still think the 900 is a wonderful motorcycle.

[@nickcoldest7128]

Have the same bike, she is a blast but quickshifter and seat are weak points. For the money I should not have to upgrade anything like a seat. Got about 12K on the bike. Had an engine failure at 8500, BMW replaced with new engine under warranty. (3 months offline 😕). Looking to upgrade but still love to ride it.

[@marcelniquet3678]

@@nickcoldest7128I own a 2023 and the quick shifter is perfect. I had that thing on my GS1200 2016 but it works much better on the XR.

[@MrABIphoto]

What was the cost for hte Custom seat and which one? Did you have to send in your original seat ?

[@LyonelKaufmann]

I have the BMW F900R. For the seat, I have change with the Wunderlich’s Seat. It’s change all. Really. I can recommended it.

[@burrito-town]

+1 for Wunderlich seats! With a seat from Wunderlich I can go 2 hours or more without stopping. Very comfortable.

Thats perfect and felt honest. Thanks mate.

[@jerseyraindog]

Still have my original model F900XR. It had the troublesome clutch replaced under warranty (eventually) but now the quickshifter has died on me. The bike was transformed with a better seat, different screen and and nicer exhaust and it still suits me just fine. I live on a small island so I can't justify a bigger bike. But the bike has been great on bigger trips around Scotland, the UK and France. Still suits me fine.

[@Martin-e1b9c]

My mate has a F900XR that the quick shifter failed. There is a known issue with them. BMW has a replacement wiring harness/loom for them. He has had no issues since it was replaced.

[@jerseyraindog]

@@Martin-e1b9c dealer has reached out to BMW but not heard back from them yet. Oddly though, it just started working again…

[@Martin-e1b9c]

@@jerseyraindog my mate's would usually start working again if the bike was switched off and restarted. Eventually it just stopped working.

[@eemoscrashed]

I love my 900XR, so much so that I’ve done 100,000km on it since I bought it. But I’ll get the first to admit that it’s lacking in some areas. The bike has been on sale since 2020, and the 850GS, and S1000XR, both launched around the same time, have both undergone a mid cycle refresh, with the GS pretty much spawning a whole new bike with the 900. Hopefully BMW does a mid cycle refresh for the 900XR next year, and addresses its shortcomings like they did with the 850/900GS.

[@vaclavbuchta6345]

exactly as you write, after five years the successor could come at EICMA in November. If they improve the saddle, the ESA in front, the location of the navigation, increase the fuel tank by 2-3 l, I don't hesitate to buy.

[@cc11cc11cc]

The video that I’ve been waiting for 🎉🎉

[@DJDarkrobe]

Interesting perspective on the bike, still have my X900XR but I bought a heated Corbin seat for it now for touring, sure is a LOT nicer than the stock BMW seat. Being shorter and lighter than you, I don't get as bad wind on it as you seem to get. Thanks for the review!

[@SouthWest-jj8yu]

I did have one as a loan bike last year whilst my bike was at BMW. I really liked the handling but couldn’t say I noticed the engine noise because the wind blast was awful, just too tall couldn’t have ridden it very far. Just bought an RT suits me much better.

[@snowpharoah3839]

This is a lovely motorcycle. A wonderful purchase. The only legitimate complaint will involve the seat... oh dear my rear...

[@nostaram]

Thank you for doing an update video on the F900XR! I am so torn between the 900XR and the Multistrada V2 S. I test drove both of them but to short and to far apart to swing me in one direction and make the final decision. For a tall rider (1.90) looking for the more fun and sporty bike - which one would you choose?

[@Michael-Masi-911]

I went with the Tracer 9 GT+ for its radar controlled cruise control.

[@dietrichFett]

Thanks for the nice video. I agree with most of your points: seat --> I changed to comfort seat from Wunderlich. With this you can ride all the day. Windshield: I have the standard size and a extra deflector from Puig. Now you can ride also the motorway. Front suspension: I changed to progressive springs. Makes another bike. But I have a problem with the cooler air exhaust. It blows directly to my knees. Did you remark this also? Best regards

[@Bocasecaman14]

Is this "2024" the one that launched in November 2023?

[@paulcrocker7347]

How are the rear brakes , still same fase issue? Good review ...

[@NothingToProve]

Yea, the same....sigh.

[@herrhardi]

I have the 2020 model. I whish it was inline 4 or triple. QS can be dodgy indeed. Really good bike though.

[@flexywing]

Ok confused, why does your leg " flap" when you change gear, is this a new race style?

[@OntarioAndrews415]

Nice bike. Good review. I don't think you'd buy it again because you are now use to more power. However, you'd recommend it. That's just what I got out of this video. :) Cheers!

[@imgoingforaride]

Did they fix the timing chain tensioner at all ? I remember looking at these a few years ago, and this was an issue people were talking about .

[@paulocelso68]

Hi, I would like to know what is this bike's ground clearance.

[@marcusgeorge1825]

Nice update thoughts Scott. Thank you as I couldn’t agree more about the front suspension. However, most people that this is aimed at don’t have your knowledge about setting up preload, compression and rebound properly and would possibly not even bother adjusting it if it had those features.

[@davewojcik1854]

I am that person. I've been riding since 1975 and I'm so clueless. The only thing I've ever done is make the rear shock harder or softer if I strap some camping gear on. I so admire Scott and his knowledge. I've owned over 20 bikes in my life. I currently own an f900r. I live in a huge city and love the f900r as a daily rider it's awesome.

[@marcusgeorge1825]

@@davewojcik1854 As someone who is also an ex Australian Superbike Racer, with about 46 years years of experience, and owned more bikes than I can remember. It’s the racing experience that taught me how to properly set up suspensions for any rider and their intentions. It’s actually amazing to see the faces and hear the comments after making some small adjustments to their bikes. It’s totally transformed the experience where it now rides and handles like a completely different bike is usually the comments I get. Some have been so amazed that they’ve tried to hand over money as some have gone to the lengths of having the dealership set them up (incorrectly). For me, it’s just paying it forward as it not only makes a bike easier to ride, it also helps make them safer.

[@davewojcik1854]

@@marcusgeorge1825 Wow. Thanks for your insight. Ride safe friend. Ps. My favorite riding was when in lived in Hawaii in the 80s and my daily rider was a honda 350xl enduro. My favorite riding experiences ever,, unfortunately the bike was eventually stolen. Take care.

[@zrx4me1]

Nice review. In the states they come mostly full of every option. It makes the bike very high priced and they don't sell well.

[@MikeK6046]

I agree with you. I don't think I've ever seen one on the road (I live in eastern Washington). Also, motorcycles like the Suzuki Vstrom 800 and Honda Transalp 750 (a slightly different category of motorcycle) pose the question of why spend more for the 900XR, anyway "one reporter's opinion".

[@fearhand12]

​@@MikeK6046cruise control would be the reason imo

[@marcelniquet3678]

@@fearhand12 ???

[@fearhand12]

@@marcelniquet3678 it doesn't come with cruise control from the factory even as an option. Better to get an f800 or f900gs. This category of bikes is for commuters and tourers

[@Mik01ist]

I haven't watched and listened to Scott's video but my biggest problem with this XR has always been the rather flat engine.....let's see if that has changed

[@kaspersergej]

I don‘t know what these guys at BMW are smoking to put the nav cradle on the handlerbar where you would need to look away from the road down to your handle bars to check nav.

[@R1KTM]

Recently I had a gs900 for 2 days and... Well, that engine , I don t know why, being the same as xr900, Is waaay more brilliant🤔

[@EDJe728]

Hi just want to confirm, I just test rode a 2023 model (no 2024s available close to me). I was sold except for the QS (bucked like crazy between 1st, 2nd and 3rd). the dealer said this was the nature of the bike. in your vid, the bike seemed to do 1st to 2nd in the beginning with no problem, but at the 1:50 mark when you run through the gears, 1st and 2nd still looked (from the bike movement) a little rough. I know that some bikes need to be in a certain rev range, throttle etc for smooth shift, but you find that 1st to 2nd, 2nd to 3rd are now useful with this bike?

[@NothingToProve]

Well, 1 to 2 is the most difficult gear change to do for any QS, simply because the distance between gears is the farthest. With that said it IS greatly improved from last year, enough to where I would use it all the time, instead of using the clutch from 1 to 2. Now the only question I have is if we take a 23 or older model and update the software, will it fix the QS? Now that is the question🤨

[@EDJe728]

@@NothingToProve Got it, thanks. I agree, even on my street triple rs, 1st to 2nd is not so smooth, but I can still use it. But that 2023 900 xr, I could do nothing with the first 2 shifts up, the jolt was too much. Thanks again for your response.

[@marvinhughes6507]

Hi Scott, Thanks for the review. I would love the 1170 cc boxer from the R nine T in this bike rather than this engine.

[@NothingToProve]

You and me both!

[@marcelniquet3678]

Why not just buy a R nine T?

[@marvinhughes6507]

@@marcelniquet3678 Because the R Nine T is a different bike with no wind protection and a different riding position.

[@marcelniquet3678]

@@marvinhughes6507 Right! the 900 has the best riding position I ever experienced. But I that engine is not bad at all.

[@marvinhughes6507]

@@marcelniquet3678If I am not wrong that engine is Chinese. It bothers me ! I would like to have a German built engine in my BMW.

[@J1mmy08]

A “touring” bike with a 15 liter fuel tank, is a no go for me. Also, the seat is so hard like you are sitting on a wooden bench. For €16k, no thanks. I went for the Tiger 900 GT Pro.

[@dreamcrusher112]

depends on mpg/ l-100km. I have 17 litres and get 200 miles, happy to get off the bike before that. Hard seats agreed.

[@J1mmy08]

@@dreamcrusher112sure, I don’t disagree with you. I’m just saying that 15 liters on a 900cc bike, doesn’t sound adequate. My CB500X had 17 liters of fuel, but I was actually very happy about it, since my average consumption was 4l/100km at worst.

[@ericrichards6252]

I’m selling my GS1200 - getting too old and want to ‘down size’. Had a test on both - sorry to say the Tiger 900 gets my vote - when the GS sells.

[@Peterdh2u]

My head said to buy the Tiger GT Pro for its comfort, range and spec, but I took a test ride on the F900XR anyway, just to discount it... Problem is, I loved the ride and after a week of agonizing, I took the plunge and went with XR instead. Hopefully my backside will forgive me!

[@lovelessissimo]

Where are you going that doesn't have a petrol station within range of a 15 liter tank?

[@alecmets2011]

Can you do the F900R next? For a close comparison to its bigger brother and to the F900R’s competitors

[@NothingToProve]

Hmm...good idea, never thought of that. Thank you! I'll look into it 👍

[@marcelcoenen1437]

@@NothingToProve Good idea! Still loving my F900R which I bought after Scott's great reviews

[@NothingToProve]

@@marcelcoenen1437 Thank you Marcel! It's still a great bike today 👍👍

[@snap-happy]

I really wanted the F 900 XR …until I rode one. The engine sounded like a bag of spanners - an expensive sounding noise that sounded like the top end was being starved of oil. Then I noticed the sub-standard paint finish…and the headlamps that misted up in cold, dry weather. So, it was a big thumbs down from me and no sale. Given the price I really expected much better from BMW.

[@walterwhite1483]

You are full of shit, after 10k km on it i can say its great bike. Just buy a new seat and windshield.

[@mechcavandy986]

Not being able to adjust the forks is a deal breaker for me. 🏍️💨🏁

[@NothingToProve]

Yea, that's the main reason that I sold mine after 2 yrs.

[@danrizzotti978]

Good, honest update Scott. However, rode the XR 900R and 2024 Yamaha Tracer 9 GT+, the Yamaha is in a completely superior league.

[@PaoloD2R2]

now they gave you fully adjustable front forks. 😃

[@NothingToProve]

Yea, I saw that, at least they listen to us! Now fix the rear brake and engine sound and I'd buy one again :) Edit: and seat is still hard as a rock - especially since I've owned a GS and RT, now this seat is sub-par for any ride longer than 2 hrs.

[@chriswu8988]

i prefer the Multi V2s its way better as the BMW F900

[@BorisBlade7]

Well it costs a ton more so I'd hope so.

[@MrBecksy2]

Why is that? Be interested to know.

[@KalJoao]

V2S better in the city? Im considering then both too.

[@MikeK6046]

IMO, if BMW were to make the F900XR with a 90/ 100 HP 4-cylinder motor (and keep it at the same price), it "would/ could" be an even better motorcycle?!?

[@davidconde2402]

How is the rear brake??

[@DamirGrguras]

Still sh*t.

[@chisikokovac2181]

I got the 2020 model fully equipped and yes... The quickshifter S**KS!!! But.... Is there a possibility to (simply) upgrade the quickshifter to the 2024 version?

[@NothingToProve]

I think it's just software, so ask your BMW dealer if they can update it to the latest 👍

[@chisikokovac2181]

@@NothingToProve I checked with my German Dealer and two RnD Engineers of BMW Motorrad and both kinda (!) agreed it SHOULD be possible but none said they can catually do it... I'll stick to it and post if I have an update.

[@jinyao1986]

​@@chisikokovac2181 It costs about $142 to rewrite the ECU in China here.

[@motor1ka]

Rear brake still lame?

[@NothingToProve]

Well, it was better, but still lacking.

[@Pepo-1969]

Actually I've bought a 2021 with 9000km last year, partially because of you ( most reviewers don't put the money where the mouth is) and I think that is a great bike, way better than I thought it would be. Coming from 1100 and 1200 boxer engine I have no regrets. Do you think that the improvement in the quickshifter is only a matter of software? Or something different in the hardware too? Good video as usual.

[@NothingToProve]

Well, officially no. But after talking with some guys at BMW they said that it is the Euro5+ update to the motor, which is software and the QS also benefited from this same update. But to me, the QS took more than just software imho. If I still owned my 2020 900XR I would take it up to the dealer and ask them to update the software and see if it improves the QS.

[@Pepo-1969]

​@@NothingToProve, went today for the annual service on my 2021 XR, asked the guy from the shop reception about updates related to the quickshifter and he said that didn't know about any. Two hours later and the bike was ready and I came home shifting without clutch at 2.500rpm and almost no throttle. Downshifting also much better. Nothing on the invoice specific to that...

[@rardentony7664]

Hi not sure if this will reach you and not sure how to private message you but I a military veteran that was based in Paderborn and I'm looking at coming back to visit the city on my bike with a mate but was wondering if you knew of some decent accommodation to use as a base that we could venture out every day the duration would be a week I would be grateful of any offers of help that you could help me with ..regards Tony .

[@NothingToProve]

Shoot me an email to [e-mail] and I'll send you some info and route 👍

[@nur_johnny8713]

This NOT a little bike - 900ccm and more than 100ps - sorry come down…

[@NothingToProve]

Just curious what do you call the cruisers that have 1800cc? The most common touring bike Honda Goldwing is also 1800cc. Triumph Rocket is 2500cc. I could go on and on, so, when you put things into perspective...😊

[@SideQuestStijn]

@@NothingToProve What do you call CB400's, CRF300's? At 220kg's this bike is a mid-size (sport/adventure) touring bike.

[@csposir]

Ridiculous fuel capacity for the purposes the rest of the motorcycle is built to fulfill

[@mikefrancais]

I think buy and large most BMW engineers are not riders themselves.

[@pbofan]

I have R1250R, and got one of these as a service loaner, and was thoroughly disappointed with it. Lack of power, rattling and poor fit and finish, odd ergonomics…the entire bike just felt cheaply built and unpleasant - very un-BMW. Was never so happy to return a loaner and get back on my 1250R.

[@MV-XD2]

This bike replaced the F800GT, a bike I owned and loved. Such a shame they decided to focus on “sport”, well “pretend sport”, instead of light touring and ditch the excellent belt drive with a chain drive, presumably as it was cheaper. They also ditched the novel under seat tank, but didn’t increase the size when moving it above the engine. The end result is a kind of pointless bike that only exists to meet a very specific marketing niche. I had one as a loan bike a year or so ago and couldn’t wait to give it back. I’ve never seen one on the road and always see plenty hanging around at dealers, even when discounted, so I suspect they’re a slow seller. Fact is there so much competition, and most decent adv bikes will keep up or even outpace this bike with better comfort, range, and no loss in handling.

[@marcelcoenen1437]

It's definetively not a slow seller, but (as the F 900R is) one of BMW's better selling bikes

[@marcelniquet3678]

I’ve had the F800 ST and now the 900 XR. I agree for the belt drive and the under seat tank. Seats are bad on both. I replaced it with a Sargent seat on the 900 and it makes it a more comfortable bike than the 800, thanks also to a better riding position. But the 900 is less sporty and more touring than the 800. The bottom line is : with the Sargent seat (and maybe the Wunderlich), the F900XR is THE bike I always want to ride among all those I ever rode.

[@specialandroid1603]

Not sure why anyone would consider the 909 when the 1000 is so much more capable.

[@walterwhite1483]

Maybe bcause 1000 costs 8000€ more....

[@marcorosasnet]

Chinese engine, the problem remains

[@marcelniquet3678]

Only in theory.